This past year, devastating, extreme-weather events increased around the country, and the number of destructive inland floods doubled from the previous record in 2012. And it’s not a surprise that late in the year, 2016 was on track to be the hottest on record.
Scientists have predicted that a warming world would continue to exacerbate these events.
Luckily, 2016 was a year for progress, too, as 174 countries and the European Union signed the Paris Agreement. This pact, which went into effect this past November, unites most nations on the planet to curb international global-warming emissions to levels that would avoid the most perilous consequences of climate change.
Cities are responsible for 70 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions and are also on the front lines of climate impacts ranging from deadly heat waves to drought-fueled wildfires. Cities like Orlando have dealt firsthand with destructive flooding and heat waves.
At the same time, cities across the country are positioning themselves to lead efforts to curb climate emissions while tapping into the clean-energy revolution, saving money and creating jobs. Hundreds of cities around the world pledged through the Compact of Mayors to accelerate the pace of carbon reductions.
The city of Orlando is leading the way in Florida, with a commitment to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions 90 percent from 2007 levels, and supply half its citywide electricity needs through clean energy, like wind and solar, by 2040.
Since 2007, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has spearheaded an ambitious citywide initiative called Green Works Orlando to be the most sustainable city in America. The foundation of Green Works builds on the concept of promoting environmental stewardship, educating people about environmentally conscious lifestyles and encouraging others to incorporate a concern for the environment into the everyday workings of government and private business.
Some Green Works Orlando successes over the years include expanding the downtown Lymmo bus circulator and SunRail commuter train, performing energy efficiency retrofits for 1,200 houses, and expanding solar-powered electric-vehicle public charging stations in partnership with the Orlando Utilities Commission.
In 2016, the Green Works Orlando initiative made huge strides toward more-affordable clean energy. In April, the city of Orlando approved the Property Assessed Clean Energy financing program to help eliminate the up-front cost of making green improvements, and repay these costs through property taxes once each year.
In addition, Orlando became the first city in Florida to pass the Building Energy and Water Efficiency Strategy, which required the largest buildings throughout the city to report their electrical and water use annually in order to receive performance scores. Through this effort, Orlando is poised to save more than $200 million in wasted energy, $64 million in public-health benefits and 900 million gallons of water. This is expected to cut roughly one-fifth of annual greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030.
To encourage efforts such as Orlando’s, we need the Paris climate agreement to make sure cities and countries all over the world are taking climate action. President-elect Trump recently hinted that he would have an “open mind” about the pact. He need look no further than the hundreds of businesses, cities, regions and investors controlling $11 trillion in U.S. assets pledging support of the agreement to know that the only common-sense option on the table is to keep our country’s promise to the world.
We are hopeful that under the new administration, the United States will continue to be a climate leader and not abandon the Paris Agreement.
In December, Environment America joined with leaders in Orlando, Fayetteville, Ark., and Philadelphia to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement in an effort to remind Trump that our health, our environment and the quality of life in Orlando will be determined by the fate of the Paris accord. As cities have shown, meeting the requirements of the Paris Agreement is not only achievable, but it also paves the way for a cleaner, safer future for us all.
Chris Castro, 28, is the sustainability director for Orlando’s Office of Sustainability & Energy. Lindsey Mendelson, 22, is a Climate Fellow for Environment America in Washington, D.C.
